


Can't Escape The Past Horrors

by KazOfScotland



Series: KCAWS 30 Days Autumn Writing 2020 [21]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: 31 days of writing, Flashbacks, Gen, Keep Calm and Writing Something, M/M, Night Terrors, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Shooting, supportive family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:02:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27283858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KazOfScotland/pseuds/KazOfScotland
Summary: When a case occurs that it eerily similar to something that Eric experienced as a teenager, Danny drops the mask of not caring about Eric at work. And six months later, while Eric is still struggling Danny does what he does best - looks after his family.
Relationships: Eric "E-Train" Russo & Danny "Danno" Williams, Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Series: KCAWS 30 Days Autumn Writing 2020 [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948771
Comments: 6
Kudos: 43
Collections: 31 Days of Writing Challenge - Fall 2020





	Can't Escape The Past Horrors

This wasn’t the crime scene that Eric wanted to process. In fact this was the only type of crime scene that he had ever considered refusing, but unfortunately, there was no chance of him being able to refuse this one. The only other crime scene tech that was available had been banned from ever working with Five-0 again, especially after Steve’s threats of severe violence if they were involved in another case, and unfortunately for Eric that meant that he had to process the crime scene. 

Now, he knew that he could just explain to Steve and one of the other techs why he couldn’t stand the idea of processing the crime scene and any evidence from it, but he didn’t think that he could bare to deal with the mocking that would be aimed at him. He knew that his Uncle Danny was concerned when he received a quick text message warning him of the type of crime scene it was. However, he also knew that his Uncle would join in on some of the mocking that he would experience but not out of nastiness. 

He knew that Danny would do everything he could to protect him. His Uncle always had. There was a reason that he carried a different last name from the rest of his family, and it was his Uncle Danny who had made sure that he was protected throughout it all. And he would do his best to do the same now, but there was only so much protecting that his Uncle could do, and he wasn’t too sure if he could protect him from himself. 

_By the age of fourteen any teenager wants to be able to go out and do there own thing. And maybe it was a bad thing, but with the fact that his mum wasn’t really around, it was pretty easy for Eric to jump on the bus and travel out of Newark. Now it didn’t always work that way, but when he was back home with his mum rather than staying with his Uncle Danny, it did. His uncle Danny was the cool uncle but he was also the adult in his life that kept him on the straight and narrow._

_But he had made the wrong decision that weekend. His mum had decided that he was old enough and mature enough to stay at home by himself for the weekend whilst she went to see her latest hook up. Normally when she decided to run off after a man, he was dropped off to stay with his Uncle Danny and Aunt Rachel. He knew that Rachel wasn’t a fan of him staying with them but his uncle had never once turned his back on him or said no to him staying. But this it wasn’t a possibility._

_His uncle Danny was undercover and because he wouldn’t be home, Rachel had said no and that she was planning to go and see her parents in London. They had all knew that it wasn’t true but no one argued with it. And it wasn’t as if he could go and stay with his Grandparents; they were fighting all the time and it wasn’t a comfortable place to be. So he said that he would be fine._

_Only he wasn’t. He decided in his teenage wisdom that he would be fine if he went to a party with his friends just outside Newark. It was out in the sticks but the party had sounded like a fun idea and he was never one to say no to doing anything fun._

He could feel his heart racing as he walked towards the crime scene. His fingers were trembling and he honestly didn’t know how he would make it through this case. He suspected that it would be a horrible day, but this was only confirmed when he saw the look of worry aimed at him from his Uncle Danny. 

Now it was no secret that Danny was a worrier. The man did it so much that he would win gold if it ever became an Olympic sport. But this was a different worry from the one that Danny normally exhibits in front of his team. Despite that fact, it was a look of worry that Eric was extremely familiar with and had been ever since he had went to that party when he was fourteen. 

It was the worry that came from Danny whenever he thought that something was going to go wrong for one of his family. It was the look of worry that Danny got in the run up to the anniversary of that weekend. It was similar to the look of worry he got whenever something could have happened to Grace or Charlie. 

He knew that this time the worry was directed at him. But he tried to ignore it however that became difficult when Danny pulled him aside before he got to the actual crime scene. As a rule Danny tried not to act as his Uncle when they were working, and if he so much as even thought the words ‘Uncle D’ whilst at work then the man would rage at him. So the fact that Danny was acting as his uncle was enough to tell him that it was bad. Really bad. 

_The music was loud enough that could you couldn’t hear anyone coming towards you if you wanted to. But as far as Eric was concerned those were the best types of parties. There was plenty of beer and plenty of things to try._

_The loud music, that is what he blames for his lack of realisation to the direness of the situation. He never heard the first gunshot. Or the second. Well, he doesn’t think that he heard them. He might have, he just didn’t know for sure._

_He didn’t realise anything was happening until people were running in every which direction. There were gunshots going off left, right and centre. He knew enough to know that he was in trouble, so he did the only thing he knew how to do. He ran. He ran and he ran and he ran. He kept running straight in the direction that he thought would take him back to the road, to safety._

_Unfortunately, one of the gunmen followed him. All he could do was keep running, but it wasn’t enough. The man was catching up with him and no matter what way he turned the only way he could turn was towards a field._

_Now, Eric was from Newark, which is a city, so he had a disadvantage when it came to running to the field. He didn’t know what to expect. However that didn’t matter as he didn’t get too far before he was forced to the ground by a blow to the head._

Eric froze. There was no other way to describe what happened other than he froze when he saw the crime scene. It was as if all the horrible memories of what happened that night came back to him along with the nightmares he had of how that night could have turned out for him. 

He hesitated before stepping forward. The presence of his Uncle Danny just off to his right was the only thing that was keeping him calm. He hated it but he could deal with it so long as he wasn’t left alone. His heart was still racing and there was still a tremble to his hands as he fought down the urge to turn tail and run. But instead of doing so he followed down the vomit that was swirling in the back of his throat and took a deep breath. 

“Take a breath, bud.” The soft encouragement from Danny brought him back to the present and pushed him further forward enough to be able to start gathering the evidence. He hated it though. He could see the crime scene he was meant of he processing but also the night of the party when he was fourteen. He just wanted it to end. “I’ve got you.” 

That had been the one sentence that Danny had kept telling him that night. The night when he realised just how much he had messed up. They had never acknowledged just how much danger his uncle had put himself in to make sure that he was okay, but Eric was the first to admit that he was grateful because Danny had been his rock before them and his anchor from that day on. 

“It’s not...” Eric couldn’t bring himself to finish the question, his voice nearly breaking over the two words he had already tried to speak. He wanted to know if Danny thought it was the same as the case in New Jersey. He wanted to know if it was the same people who still haunted his nightmares or if it was just coinsidence and he was going to witness things similar to his experiences for the rest of his career. 

“We don’t know, Eric,” Danny’s answer was actually more reassuring than he thought it would be. He never wanted to face what happened that night again but he also knew that he would be able to sleep easier at night if he knew that they were all locked away. 

_He fell before he managed to get away from the gunman, and in that moment, his heart just stopped. He may only be fourteen years old, barely a teenager as far as his Uncle Danny was concerned, but he knew what was happening. He knew that not everyone who had been at the party was alive, and he knew that he was going to join them soon._

_He tried to push himself up to his feel. He had tried to grab ahold of whatever was in front of him but it wasn’t enough. There was suddenly a searing pain in his side and he knew there and then that he was done for. The pain was too much for him to fight off and run from._

_He could hear the cackling of the gunman before there was a bang that signified the fact that the trigger had been pulled and then the slight graze of a bullet against his arm. He knew he was meant to apply pressure to his side, he hadn’t expected to be sliced across there, and to his arm but for some reason he just couldn’t bring himself to do so. All he could do was lie there and stare up at the scarecrow above him whilst hoping that someone would find him and take his body back to his family. He was too far away from everything for him to hope that he would stop bleeding enough to make it home._

Eric could hear Five-0 getting ready to leave the crime scene just as he crouched below the scarecrow that had been towering over the victim. He knew that he shouldn’t be letting his past affect his present but he couldn’t help it. This was too similar to his own attack for him to ignore it. He had managed to collect the evidence so far but he had a constant eye on his Uncle to make sure that nothing untoward was going to happen. He knew that whilst Danny was there nothing could happen to him and that was why he began to panic when McGarrett said that he and Danny were going to go and visit the family of the victim. 

He hadn’t even realised that he had started to visibly panic until Danny had pulled him up to his feet and was walking him backwards away from the crime scene. The grasp his uncle had on his arm was both strong and grounding. He used the slight hint of pain that was shooting through his arm as a way to ground himself. The worries look on Danny’s face was what caused him to speak and ignore the rest of Five-0 who were all watching, each of them confused by the way that Danny was treating the younger man from New Jersey. 

“This is too much, isn’t it? All you have to do is say and we’ll get another tech to process this case.” Eric knew what the offer was. It was one that up until that moment he would have accepted without hesitation. But Eric knew that he needed to finish this for his own well-being. He had to face his fears, but maybe not on his own. 

“I can do this. Just don’t leave me alone. Please?” He knew that the last word made it sound as though he was a begging, and in some ways he was, he couldn’t bring himself to be ashamed of it. He knew he couldn’t finish his job if he didn’t feel safe. And the only way he felt safe right now was with someone there to make sure that he went home in one piece. “Please, Uncle D?” If his voice broke slightly on those last three words then it was no one else’s business. He was doing his best to pretend that this wasn’t tearing him apart. 

“I’m not going anywhere. Steve’s going to speak to the family with Lou, Chin and Kono are going to go and run down a lead or something, and I’m staying right here,” Danny had kept his voice soft as he spoke. It was the same voice he used when Grace or Charlie had a nightmare and they were still stuck inside of it. Now Eric hated to be treated like a child but he also knew that that was the reassurance he needed. 

“Okay.” He turned back towards the crime scene and could see it as clear as day in front of him even although Max and the ME’s office had already been and retreived the body. He could see them lying beneath the scarecrow whilst htey bled to death, exactly as had happened to him. And that only made him more determined to finish processing the crime scene. 

_Danny Williams had always been a man of action. If someone he loved was in trouble he would do everything that he physically could to protect them. But right at that moment he felt useless. He was stuck in a position where he couldn’t, actually shouldn’t, do what he would normally do._

_Newark PD had loaned him out to the NYPD. They were running some sting operation to take down a bunch of drug dealers. Danny had been loaned out due to the fact that he was a fresh face, and had not long since left the academy which mean that no one would know who he was. It was all going as it was meant to. At least until his phone rang._

_He had a sinking feeling in his gut before he even answered the phone. And that feeling settled like a lead balloon as soon as he answered the phone. His nephew, who at this point may as well be his own kid, had been attacked at a party outside of Newark. The advise was that he got to the hospital quickly because it was touch and go._

_And at that moment he had no idea what to do. His family had always came first but he was stuck in a night club waiting for the sale to go down. He wanted to run, he wanted to get in his car and sped through New York back to Jersey so as to be there for Eric regardless of the outcome. However he was stuck, he didn’t know how to leave when there was a job still to be done. All he could do was hope that it was over with quickly._

Six months after the case that had been near identical to the shooting and attack when Eric was fourteen, and it was difficult for the Crime Scene tech. He had always sturggled with what had happened at the party that night when he was fourteen. He did everything that he could not let everything that was going through his head affect his life and family. And that was why he was determined to stay awake no matter what. He loved his family too much to let them witness the nightmares that came as a side effect of that horrible night. It was worse on this occassion because it was the anniversary of that night. 

He knew that his Uncle Danny and Steve were asleep in their room, and that was something he still wasn’t allowed to share with others, and Grace was asleep in her room. So despite how late it was he was lying on the couch, his laptop on his stomach and his headphones presseed firmly over his ears. He knew that he was tired but he was worried of falling asleep in case he woke everyone else up sceaming in terror. And that was the reason why he was lying there watching movies on his laptop, he knew it wasn’t healthy but it was the best that he could do at that moment. He would catch up on sleep at a later date but for now he would just do his best. 

Danny wasn’t sure what had woke him up. At first he had thought that it was Steve, but as he glanced over at his boyfriend he could see that he was awake, but it hadn’t been him that had woken him up. There was another noise at the door that caused him to sit up only to see a shadow in the doorway. 

“Danno, something’s wrong with Eric,” Grace spoke from the doorway as she pushed the door wider open. The light from the hallway flooded in which caused both Danny and Steve to wince as they moved to sit up properly. “He’s crying, Danno.” 

It was at those words that the New Jersey native shot up out of his bed. He didn’t say anything as he made his way out of the bedroom in the direction of the living room where he knew Eric must be if he couldn’t hear him. He dropped a quick kiss onto Grace’s head as he went. He didn’t have the time to tell her what was going on, or that it would all be okay, but at least he could give her some comfort whilst he went to find Eric. It was an automatic reaction and had been ever since that night when Eric had been attacked. For months afterwards Eric had woken him up every single night screaming in terror and begging for his life, slowly it had gotten better, but ever since the case that was nearly identical to the one in New Jersey which had also left them without any leads to make an arrest, the night terrors had returned to the same extent that they had been when he was fourteen. 

Danny felt his heart break as he saw Eric on the couch, he was thrashing back and forth in terror. He hadn’t considered the fact that with it being the anniversary it would be even tougher. He hadn’t meant to forget about the date, he would never forget what had happened and the affect that it had occured, but it was something that he had pushed to the back of his mind and that was why he was surprised and heartbroken to see Eric like that. 

“Hey bud, it’s time to wake up,” Danny sat down on the floor next to the couch where Eric was sleeping, he reached up and moved the laptop from where it was perched percariously on the edge of the couch. He wanted to pull Eric into a hug like he would with Grace or Charlie but he also knew from previous experience that touch was too much for Eric to handle. “Eric, it’s time to wake up, bud. I promise it’s okay.” He kept up the constant stream of reassurances as he tried to wake Eric up. He was surprised to find that he wasn’t as out of practice as he had thought he would be. It had been a long time since he had done this. 

All he could hope was that some day in the future his nephew would be able to sleep without being haunted by nightmares. He watched as Eric shot awake and suddenly started to look around. It was strange to see his nephew who was an adult now looking at him in a way that was so similar to that of a child. He forgot at times just how easily Eric could get upset about the case from when he was fourteen. He waited until Eric had started to move towards him, he didn’t move and instead just let Eric decide what he wanted to do. So once Eric had settled, even though his heart was racing and his breathing eratic, Danny knew that he could make this better. He moved to embrace his nephew in such a way that would still allow him to escape. 

“Breathe with me, bud.” And just from there Danny fell into his normal role of a overprotective and reassuring Uncle. He sat there slowing his own breathing and over exaggerating it to guide Eric through the panic attack. It wasn’t a situation that owuld be an easy fix but at least he could do this for Eric. He was sure that it wouldn’t be the last time that he had to do this. 

“Sorry, Uncle D.”


End file.
